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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29702769">Red</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/NixxieOfTheGays/pseuds/NixxieOfTheGays'>NixxieOfTheGays</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Blood and Gore, Body Horror, Canon Compliant, Eggpire on Dream Team SMP (Video Blogging RPF), Gen, M/M, can be interpreted as romantic platonic qpr etc., this is not RPF, whatever you'd like :)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 16:47:27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>995</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29702769</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/NixxieOfTheGays/pseuds/NixxieOfTheGays</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"I can help you, BadBoyHalo. If only you stop resisting, if only you stop your struggle. If only you <b>give in."</b></p><p>---</p><p>Bad is left with no other choice. Not if he wants to save his Skeppy.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>BadBoyHalo &amp; Skeppy, BadBoyHalo/Skeppy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>111</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Red</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>DAILY DISCLAIMER: This is about the fictional characters portrayed on the Dream SMP roleplay server and not the content creators behind them.</p><p>TRIGGER WARNINGS: There is body horror and gore in this fic!! Please proceed with caution!!!</p><p>Betas:</p><p>Celia (<a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oceantail/works">Oceantail</a> on ao3, oceantail-oceantail on tumblr)<br/>Hooty (<a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatonegorl">thatonegorl</a> on ao3, atittueball on tumblr)</p><p>Thanks so much guys!!! &lt;3</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><i>"Why are you here?"</i> The Egg whispers in a language Bad has never learned, but one he can understand with perfect clarity. It speaks in a twisted voice, one that reeks of pestilence and plague. The Trophy Room is hot and humid. Bad fidgets in place, uncomfortable in his thick cloak. </p><p>"Oh, you know darn well what I'm doing here."</p><p>
  <i>"It's your... Skeppy, was it? You tried to take him from me. You and that stupid cat and sheep with your foolish 'Bath Water'. Alas, he wasn't too difficult to find. Practically wandered back into my grasp..."</i>
</p><p>The vines begin to move, pulsing and covered in crimson mucus. Bad nearly jumps out of his skin when one slithers past his leg. They twist together and then open like a venus flytrap, revealing what's inside.</p><p>Skeppy.</p><p>
  <i>"He was so impure when I found him. Whatever you did tainted him with the essense of the other simple-minded mortals on this SMP. Not to worry, though. All I had to do was pump a bit of my slime into his veins. See? Good as new."</i>
</p><p>But Skeppy is not good as new. Quite the opposite, in fact. His red tint has returned and you can still see hints of the amalgamation he once was. Bad notices a small imprint on his cheek resembling a face in the midst of an agonizing scream. The puncture wounds along his arms oozing cherry-colored puss confirms Bad's fears. He shivers. </p><p><i>"Is this the man you</i> love <i>so much, BadBoyHalo?"</i></p><p>Bad resists the urge to throw up.</p><p>"Let him go!"</p><p>
  <i>"Or what, demon? What will you do? You can't burn me. You can't... kill me."</i>
</p><p>"I can try, you son of a muffin!" Bad shouts, brandishing his sword. He leaps at the nearest vine, hacking with all his might. He doesn't see the ones that wrap around his ankles until it’s too late, yanking him into the air. He yelps in surprise.</p><p>
  <i>"Oh, you poor soul. Seeing him like this gives you anguish, gives you pain. But it doesn't have to be like this."</i>
</p><p>"G-Give him back!" he yells again, tears prickling in the corners of his glowing pupil-less eyes.</p><p>
  <i>"You want to protect him, don't you? Him and your son, the one they call Sapnap. You feel fraught, knowing that eventually he too will be within my reach."</i>
</p><p>"Keep his name out of your mouth!" Bad snarls.</p><p>"I can help you, BadBoyHalo. If only you stop resisting, if only you stop your struggle. If only you <b>give in."</b></p><p>"Never!"</p><p>The grip on his legs tighten as the Egg seems to think.</p><p>
  <i>"Alright then."</i>
</p><p>Then the vines surrounding Skeppy's unconscious form begin to <i>squeeze</i>.</p><p>"NO!"</p><p>
  <i>"It's too bad, really. I could have used him, but I can afford to spare a foot soldier or two. It won't matter in the end, when everyone is under my control." </i>
</p><p>Bad can hear Skeppy's rib cage crack. He curls in on himself, his body wracked with pain. Their souls are tied. A pact they made when they were still young and innocent. It reminds him of a time where there were two boys in the nether, getting their kicks from trolls. Two boys who made the promise to never leave each other's sides. It seemed so simple at the time to press their cut palms together and whisper the ancient rites.  A Demon Bond. One that cannot be broken.</p><p>Despite the agony, he thinks only of his poor Skeppy. The crystallite human's breathing shudders and his eyes bulge behind his eyelids. Bits of his skin harden instinctively in defense. His skin-crystals, once sky blue and translucent, are now the color of freshly spilt blood. The same color as the kind that dribbles out of his parted lips...</p><p>"WAIT! PLEASE!" Bad screams at the merciless entity, "I'll do anything you want!"</p><p><i>"Anything?"</i> it squeezes Skeppy harder.</p><p>"Yes! I-I give up. Please just bring my Skeppy back..." he sobs.</p><p>Just like that, the Egg releases both men gently to the floor.</p><p>
  <i>"Do you understand what I need from you?"</i>
</p><p>Suddenly, horrible images slammed into the forefront of Bad's mind: a brainwashed army, the SMP's grounds so red you'd think it was always that way. A corpse lies mangled and covered in weeds, her soft wool stained with blood. More bodies, nearly buried in the parasitic weeds. </p><p>Bad nods.</p><p>Liquid gushes from Skeppy's wounds. As it drains, so does the color that had tainted his normally brown skin. The diamonds growing from his body turn back to cyan, then retract. The horrifying faces of their friends shrink until they are small scars, littering the plateaus of his body. The red substance soaking his hoodie fades as well, the color now more purple than anything.</p><p>"G-Geppy!" Bad sobs in relief. He might not be awake yet, but at least his breathing is back to normal.</p><p>
  <i>"Now it's time."</i>
</p><p>"I love you..." he whispers to the sleeping form beside him.</p><p>Then he steps into the Egg's embrace and all he sees is white.</p><p>---</p><p>"Where are we going, Bad? Are you hiding something?" Skeppy teases, the wind tossing his dark hair.</p><p>"No! Of course not, Skep. We're just... going on vacation."</p><p>"I don't know, you're acting a little bit SusBoyHalo."</p><p>"Oh, whatever! What should we call this island?" Bad asks, docking the boat.</p><p>"How about... Big Daddy Island?"</p><p>"I am <i>not</i> calling it that."</p><p>"You will."</p><p>"I most certainly will not."</p><p>"You will because you <i>love me!</i>" Skeppy bumps Bad with his hip, an arm coming up to wrap around his shoulders.</p><p>"You're so sappy."</p><p>As soon as night falls, Bad gets back in his boat, heading towards the mainland. He leaves a peacefully sleeping Skeppy behind and takes off his disguise. The Egg might have control over his mind, but not his heart. Never his heart. He will keep his Skeppy safe. At all costs. When Bad's hand releases the oar it leaves a bright red handprint behind.</p><p>
  <i>At all costs.</i>
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